PDP asks govt to come clean on NPAs of J&K Bank

Opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) today asked the state government to come clean on reports about "murky details" of non-performing assets (NPA) of Jammu and Kashmir Bank which led to over 18 per cent drop in the share price of the public listed company.
"The reports of NPAs to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore are highly disturbing, but of greater concern are the attempts to conceal them in order to show higher profits," PDP chief spokesperson Naeem Akhtar said in a statement here.
A local English daily today reported that the Bank, in which the state government has majority shares, had NPAs to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore extended to some companies in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad.

Akhtar said the state finance minister must come out with government's response on the report as "the Bank management seems involved in these malpractices that could threaten the very health of the Bank as is apparent from the crash of its share prices today".
He said the finance secretary of the state who is on the Bank's board of directors should also reveal the goings-on in the Bank as the political leadership of this government has lost all credibility.
"Should that not happen and a convincing explanation does not come from the government, the PDP would be forced to write to the Reserve Bank of India for instituting a special audit to reach the truth," Akhtar said.

The PDP spokesperson also said it was extremely worrying that the Bank had been compromised by appointing of wrong persons on the board of directors and the bank management. It appears even the auditors come under cloud as reported by the newspaper, he added.
Akhtar alleged that while within the state loans are very stingily sanctioned, big loans outside the state are given to those who do not even deserve them.